flight sharing intermediary such as Skyuber, Wingly or indeed the Seats Available / Wanted thread on this forum that simply matches pilots and riders wanting to share the costs of a flight.
I agree that it's a close call between the two "providers" and the forum on this site. So what's the difference which allows peace in my mind with this site's forum, yet disapproval of the other two? I perceive a difference of "public availability". A person who finds the "seats available" thread had to look for it, presumably as an element of exploring their interest in being a pilot - this is a pilot forum. However, Wingly ads are being pushed at me on FB. To me, FB is the highest form of "publicly available", reaching anyone, and actively promoting and profiting from private flights, rather than being simply a non involved link between two already "in" aviation people, with no profit involved.
By tolerating this, the regulators are disadvantaging those OC holders who have worked hard to meet the requirements. If I were an OC holder, I'd be barking mad at the regulators for allowing this fuzzy activity. Winlgy devalues the effort of those pilots who earn a CPL, and those companies who comply.
Perhaps it is this kind of shift which society ultimately wants, that's society's to decide. If that's the new direction of things, I'll have to hold my disdain, I suppose. But, I'm not holding it yet. The rules are clear in Canada, and for my experience the Wingly scheme is not legal in Canada. If I see Wingly ads on my FB when I return to Canada, I'll be registering a complaint with Transport Canada about it. Canadian commercial operators are my business partners, and I will be theirs....